Julie Cart / CalMatters
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About 10% of Cal Fire’s workforce quit the agency last year. “We are at critical mass, guaranteed,” one Cal Fire captain said. Workers’ comp cases for PTSD are routinely denied, and many crews are fatigued from working weeks at a time with no time off.
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From housing and health to transportation and education, the Legislative Analyst’s Office provides a litany of sobering climate change impacts for California legislators to address as they enact policies and set budgets.
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Regulators approved “seriously deficient” fire prevention plans, including from PG&E, which sparked California’s deadliest wildfire, state auditor says.
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In a repeat of last year’s criticism, legislators were told there’s “a very real risk” the cap-and-trade program won’t meet California’s greenhouse gas goals. The state air board is revising the program.
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UN nations have pledged to reduce climate-changing methane and forest destruction within 10 years. California has been trying to handle both problems, with limited success.
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As drought grips most of California, water thefts have increased to record levels. Thieves tap into hydrants, pump water from rivers and break into remote water stations and tanks.
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Stop us if you’ve heard this before: California is in the grip of a severe drought. Again.Now the federal government is stepping in to help.
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Big Basin Redwoods State Park, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was nearly wiped out by fire. It remains closed as the state struggles to protect nearly 300 parks from climate change. Solutions are costly: thinning forests, adding sand to beaches, moving parking lots and buildings.
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Utility companies are carrying out numerous tasks to prevent wildfires, from ramping up line inspections to replacing antiquated equipment. But critics say that PG&E and other electric providers should be focusing less on the cheap stuff, like cutting trees, and more on upgrading its thousands of miles of old lines and aging equipment.
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The North Coast’s rainforests are hotter, drier and less foggy. That means more dangerous fires that can scar iconic redwoods.
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The record-breaking fire season could have lasting effects on the economy of California’s mountain communities.
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Assembly leadership says too much opposition, too little time to address disputes over $3 billion in fees on utility customers for fire and climate change projects.